Betty Lynn

Show Count: 15Series Count: 0Role: Old Time Radio StarOld Time RadioBorn: August 29, 1926 , Kansas City, Missouri, USA

Betty Lynn (born August 29, 1926) is an American actress. She is best known for having played Thelma Lou (Barney Fife's girlfriend) in The Andy Griffith Show. She is the last surviving regular female cast member from the show, if the regular appearance of Elinor Donahue is excluded.

Career

Born Elizabeth Ann Theresa Lynn in Kansas City, Missouri, Lynn began acting in radio. She was later discovered in a Broadway production by Darryl F. Zanuck and signed to 20th Century Fox. Lynn made her film debut in the 1948 film Sitting Pretty opposite Robert Young. That same year, she appeared in June Bride with Bette Davis followed by roles in Mother Is a Freshman (1949), Cheaper by the Dozen (1950), and Payment on Demand (1951).

In the 1953–1954 television season, Lynn was cast as June Wallace, the fictitious sister-in-law of the Ray Bolger character in theABC sitcom Where's Raymond? Allyn Joslyn played her husband, Jonathan Wallace. Lynn and Joslyn left the series in its second season when it was renamed The Ray Bolger Show.

After guest starring on various television series including Schlitz Playhouse of Stars, The Gale Storm Show, Sugarfoot, and Markham, Lynn won the role of Thelma Lou on The Andy Griffith Show. She portrayed the role regularly from 1961 until 1965, then made a final guest appearance in one episode during the sixth season (1965–1966).

Following the end of The Andy Griffith Show, Lynn continued appearing in various television and film roles. In 1986, she reprised the role of Thelma Lou in the reunion television movie Return to Mayberry in which Thelma Lou and Barney Fife were finally married. In 2006, Lynn retired from acting and relocated to Mount Airy, North Carolina, the hometown ofAndy Griffith and the town on which Mayberry is believed to have been based despite Griffith's repeated denials.

Betty Lynn makes monthly appearances at the Andy Griffith Museum in Mount Airy to sign autographs and meet with her fans.

Honors

In 2007, Lynn was inducted of the Missouri Walk of Fame, located in Marshfield, Missouri.